MAY 7 COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Generals receive top Region III playoff seed

Tuesday

HERKIMER, N.Y. – The Herkimer College Generals closed out the regular season with four wins over the final weekend and will play at home Tuesday in the first round of postseason play.

Herkimer (37-3) went 26-0 in Region III and received the No. 1 seed for the Division III playoffs. Playing in the Region III-A bracket – the region gets two bids for the national tournament – Herkimer gets Columbia-Greene Community College as its opponent for a 4 p.m. Tuesday semifinal. Columbia-Greene (17-14) enters postseason play with three consecutive losses and was beaten 8-0 and 10-0 by the Generals April 11 at Herkimer High School

The Generals, ranked first in the nation, beat No. 10 Monroe Community College 8-2 and 15-12 Saturday, and were home for Sunday’s doubleheader and 17-0 and 20-0 shutouts against Fulton-Montgomery Community College. The victories ran Herkimer’s streak to 34 in a row after a 3-3 start in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in March.

Paying as the away team in Saturday’s second game, the Generals needed extra innings to keep their streak intact. Herkimer scored twice in the top of the seventh inning to extend their game against Monroe and took a 10-8 lead with two more runs in the top of the eighth. Monroe tied the game in the eighth, and Herkimer scored five runs to break the 10-10 tie in the top of the ninth. Trailing 15-10, Monroe came back with two runs in the bottom of the ninth but failed to extend the game.

Shannon Moore went 3-for-5 with five runs batted in and hit two of Herkimer’s six home runs in the nightcap. Keeanna Wolcik also homered twice and drove in three runs; she pitched the first three innings and turned a 5-2 deficit over to the bullpen. Jennah Hogan had two hits, two runs and two RBI, and Madisyn Butler and Julianna Finnerty homered. Kali Puppolo, the third Herkimer pitcher, threw the final three innings for the win.

Taylor Zaino had three hits and three RBI in Saturday’s first game, and Butler had two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored. Puppolo allowed two runs on six hits and struck out five batters in a complete game.

Brooke Snyder pitched a one-hit shutout in Sunday’s second game after Alicia Swavely and Hunter VanArnum combined on a three-hitter in the opener. Devin Fox had three hits and Maria DiNigro drove in three runs in Game 1, and Fox, Moore and VanArnum each had three hits and three RBI in Game 2.

Monroe (20-10) is the top seed for Region III-B and the No. 2 overall seed for the region. The Tribunes swept a doubleheader from SUNY-Adirondack Sunday, and play at home Tuesday against Niagara County Community College (15-26).

Tuesday’s other regional playoffs pit SUNY-Broome (14-8) against Onondaga Community College (21-18), and Corning Community College (26-10) against Erie Community College (16-10).

Fulton-Montgomery finished a 1-13 season with 11 consecutive losses.

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